Addressing the issue competition among friends, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that the seeds of unhealthy competition are planted at home and urged parents to avoid making comparisons between their children. He stressed on the importance of healthy competition and advised children to prioritize helping each other while competing in a healthy manner.
The Prime Minister was interacting with students, teachers and parents at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi today during the 7th edition of Pariksha Pe Charcha (PPC). The annual discourse was first held in 2018 under the initiative of PM Modi to create a stress-free environment for students preparing for board examinations.
Three students had asked PM Modi questions on the issue of peer pressure and competition among friends. In reply, he also encouraged children to compete with themselves and celebrate their friends’ achievements. Modi further appealed to parents “not to make the achievement of their children their visiting card.”
On the issue of addressing external factors such as cultural and societal expectations contributing to added pressure on students, PM advised children to prepare themselves mentally to handle pressure. He also urged the students, families and teachers to collectively address the issue of external stress while evolving the process rather than implementing a systematic theory.
On the role of teachers in motivating students, Modi emphasized student-teacher association right from the first day of class to the time of the exam and said that it would completely eliminate stress during exams. He also urged the teachers to become more accessible to students rather than associating with them on the basis of subjects taught.
The Prime Minister further asked parents “not to over-hype the exam day by new clothes, rituals or stationery”. He also asked the students not to keep preparing until the last moment and approach exams with a relaxed mindset and to avoid any external destruction that can lead to unwanted tension.
On the issue of educating and encouraging students to manage exam stress effectively while also harnessing the benefits of mobile technology as a tool for learning, Modi said that one cannot run from technology in today’s world but “Excess of anything is bad”. The Prime Minister suggested students educate their parents about technology being an educational resource and also recommended sharing the passcodes of every mobile phone in their homes with every member to establish transparency.
PM Modi also touched upon monitoring screen time with the use of dedicated mobile applications and tools, further suggesting educating the students about the resourcefulness of mobile phones in the classroom.